Terrorising the unborn

She was only 12. Her mother took her to the hospital to flush the baby from her “baby”. The girl didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t even know she was pregnant. She underwent some kind of abortion procedure and was afterwards told by the practitioner to go home. But she was still bleeding and didn’t know why. She was weak, scared and all alone, cowering behind some vehicles, trying to hide the blood on her dress panic all over her face……

A pharmacist saw her, realized something was very wrong and went to her aid. She cleaned her up, gave her some pads and then sent her home. The child was however quite traumatized – she had no idea what had happened or why she was bleeding. She was afraid to go home, unsure of the reception she would receive from her mother, who had taken her to that hospital. Would she be beaten for bleeding all over her dress? Maybe …

This is a real story, narrated to me by a young man who has been a medical officer in the village. The tragedy to him was that in all her innocence, this small girl was subjected to a medical procedure she didn’t understand, and afterward not comforted or cared for, except through the chance appearance on the scene of a caring female pharmacist who attended to her physical needs. Where was her mother? Where were the counselors? Who will walk with this young girl as she grows up and begins to piece together the story –when she suddenly figures out she was pregnant and aborted a child? This is the silent terror that rocks innocent lives, robbing them of virtue.

The innocent who have died, who have been impregnated and who have aborted without their knowledge are the tragic result of a society failing to show genuine care and concern for each another. We have devalued life to an extent that we justify killing those who don’t subscribe to our beliefs and take advantage of young girls with no thought of the consequences they may face as a result of our irresponsible behavior. We shed innocent blood of an unborn child because we fail to accept the possibility that God has a divine plan for that life.

We hear the anguished cry of fellow Kenyans as we face unexpected death and injury on our streets. The innocent are dying, and we seem powerless to stop it. We see school girls talk in the shadows about teachers who got them pregnant and they were forced to drop out of school. Innocence has been stolen, and babies are being raised by mere children. Our medical facilities have joined in the fray and are becoming part of the accepted killing process as practitioners perform abortions on young girls who have no idea what is being done to them.

What is happening to our society? Killing and death of innocence seems to be ravaging our people, threatening to unravel the very fibre that holds a society together – that of wholesome, life-giving and supportive relationships. Is anyplace in this country safe anymore? Especially if you are a baby, yet to be born ….!

Can we stop this madness? Can we take responsibility for our behavior? Can we start loving each other the way God intended and care for one another rather than force our own agenda? Can we….? Think about it!